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Breaking Motorcycle News on Clutch and Chrome!
McQueens classic motorcycle to be auctioned at Concours d'Elegance
By the Staff of Clutch and
Chrome
March 3rd, 2008
Motorcycle collectors and
movie fans are looking forward to the upcoming auction being
held at the classic motorcycle show, Legend of the
Motorcycle: International Concours d'Elegance.
In an auction that matches
screen icon and iconic object, motorcycle owned by
Steve McQueen comes up at Bonhams on May 3 during the
California show called ``.''
A red 1940 Indian Scout motorcycle, restored by the late
actor for competitions may fetch as much as $80,000
according to Bonhams auction house.
Steve McQueen became
synonymous with fast cars and motorcycles during his
lifetime. The famous jump over barbed wire in the movie
'Great Escape' on solidified his association with
motorcycles.
Aside from Steve McQueen's
riding reputation, the star himself is one of the major
reason the item should fetch such a high price. His ongoing
fame places him as the 10th-highest earner on Forbes
magazine's list of top-grossing dead stars, taking in $6
million in the year through October.
"He's one of the few celebrities who adds value to a
motorcycle,'' said Andrew Reilly, a specialist in Bonhams's
motoring department. "Normally the celebrity factor makes it
more salable, but not necessarily at a higher price.''
Bonhams estimated one of McQueen's Sport Scouts at the going
market rate of $15,000 to $18,000 for a Los Angeles sale in
2006, Reilly said. It fetched $175,000.
The actor owned about 200 motorcycles, and a few "trickle
out'' onto the market each year, Reilly said. McQueen's
family auctioned 166 motorcycles in Las Vegas in 1984, he
said.
McQueen had fewer cars. In August, his 1963 Ferrari Lusso
took $2.3 million at a California auction by Christie's
International, doubling its top estimate.
Bonhams will auction the Indian Scout, which comes with a
letter from McQueen's children certifying that it belonged
to their father, along with other motorcycles belonging to
Corbin at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Half Moon Bay,
California where the Concours d'Elegance is taking place.
The two-wheeled connection
doesn't end with the legend, event or the motorcycle itself.
The famous item is being put on auction by the
motorcycle-seat maker Michael Corbin. |
